INTERACTIONS OF LAND, OCEAN AND HUMANS: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

INTERACTIONS OF LAND, OCEAN AND HUMANS: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

by

Chris Maser

In reading this book, keep in mind that our earthscape is composed of three interactive spheres: the atmosphere (air), the litho-hydrosphere (the rock that constitutes the restless continents and the water that surrounds them), and the biosphere (the life forms that exist within and between the other two spheres). We humans, however, arbitrarily delineate our seamless world into discrete ecosystems as we try to understand the fluid interactions among the nonliving and living components of planet Earth. If you picture the interconnectivity of the three spheres as being analogous to the motion of a waterbed, you will see how patently impossible such divisions are because you cannot touch any part of a filled waterbed without affecting the whole of it.

So it is that rivers of air carry water from the oceans to every location on Earth and thus not only are the non-substitutable source of our potable water but also give life to the soil and all that grows therein—our food. In turn, how we treat the land ultimately protects the purity of the world’s air, water, and soil or degrades them with pollution. In like measure, the way in which we treat the oceans determines the long-term sustainability of their biophysical services, which we rely on for a good quality life, as opposed to a desperate struggle for mere survival. And, finally, how we act toward the air determines whether the world breathes freely or suffocates in pollution, which ultimately controls how the global climate reacts to the choices we make.

Together, these three spheres form myriad interactive, self-reinforcing feedback loops that affect all life on Earth. And, it is the reciprocity of these feedback loops that form the legacy we leave—one that either liberates or progressively constrains all generations. The choice of how we, the adults of the world, behave is ours—either with psychological maturity and sacred humility or self-indulgence and monetary arrogance. How will you choose?

Finally, this CRC series of books on the various facets social-environmental sustainability is a forum wherein those who dare to seek harmony and wholeness can struggle to integrate disciplines and balance the material world with the spiritual, the scientific with the social, and in so doing expose their vulnerabilities, human frailties, and hope, as well as their visions for a viable future.

As the title of this book implies, the human component of the world is a critically important—but often overlooked or blatantly ignored—dimension of social-environmental sustainability. Yet, it is the integrity of the relationships among the diverse elements in any system that both defines the system through its functional processes and confers sustainability to the system in its functioning. Interactions of Land, Ocean and Humans: A Global Perspective examines this notion in terms of nature, culture, and the irrevocable relationships between them.

Chris Maser, Series Editor

ENDORSEMENTS:

“It’s been a very rewarding experience reviewing Chris’s book, far more fun and educational than I ever anticipated. Through his work as a scientist and his personal experience, Chris takes the reader on a journey around the world to explain, understand and appreciate the scientific, economic and emotional linkages between the land, oceans and people. He reminds us that our actions today are the choices that will determine the environmental legacy we leave for future generations. Also, that if the human species is to exist we must do no harm to the very commons that support us at all levels of life. And, in conclusion, how we educate our youth will provide the foundation of hope needed to show the world that we must change our way of thinking if we are to save us from ourselves.”

“All life is connected, a universal concept that in Maser’s lyrical prose pulsates with the constant interchanges between land and sea. Interactions of Land, Ocean and Humans: A Global Perspective describes a planet of marvelous and intricate design too precious to defile. Yet defile it we have, as Maser recounts in unflinching detail. Despite his disheartening review of how badly humans have behaved since the advent of agriculture, Maser manages to leave us with optimism. The way forward, he says, is to reconnect what we have broken—to reestablish the global common. He challenges us to mend our thinking with cooperative humility. Acting now will leave a sustainable world as our legacy to all generations. Who can resist that hope?”

Jane Braxton Little, Writer/photographer, Plumas County, CA.

“The oft quoted axiom that everything is related to everything else is widely saluted as a theoretically construct, but it is rarely seriously explored, perhaps because of the complexities of real life. This book is different. In Interactions of Land, Ocean and Humans, Chris Maser systematically describes often remarkably counterintuitive biophysical relationships and interactions. However difficult to understand and appreciate, everything, including humans and nonhumans, is an interactive, interdependent part of a system whole. And, forget about some idealized, reassuring notion of the balance of nature. Maser totally debunks such thinking with a hardy dose of cutting edge science and common sense.”

Robert T. Lackey Professor Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Oregon State University Corvallis, OR

Interactions of Land, Ocean and Humans: A Global Perspective. 2014. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. If you want more information about this book or want to purchase it, visit “BOOKS” on my website.